Author Archives: slav

School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies, and Realities in 2010

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Thanks to Pru Mitchell for forwarding the following information and report:

New research just released on “School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies, and Realities in 2010”

Princeton, NJ – September 9, 2010 – A new research report was issued today that summarizes the results of an extended look at school principals’ use of social networking. The underlying research for the report, “School Principals and Social Networking in Education: Practices, Policies, and Realities in 2010,” was conducted by edWeb.net, IESD, Inc., MMS Education, and MCH Strategic Data.

Since the creation of MySpace and LinkedIn in 2003 and Facebook in 2004, online social networking has quickly become a pervasive means for people to connect all over the world. Yet schools are one of the last holdouts, where many of the most popular social networking sites are often banned for students, and often for teachers, librarians, and administrators, out of a concern about safety, privacy, confidentiality, and lack of knowledge about how best to ensure appropriate use.

At the same time, education reform initiatives from all corners-Federal and state programs, education research, and policy initiatives-are advocating the use of innovative and collaborative technology to drive improvements in teaching quality and student achievement.

The goal of this research study was to take a close look at the attitudes of school principals about social networking for their own personal use, with their colleagues, and within their school communities.  Principals can play an important role in encouraging and training their teachers and staff to adopt new technologies, and in setting policies for the use of technology and the Internet in schools.

The research was conducted in two phases: an online survey sent to a cross section of educators across the country in the fall of 2009, followed by an in-depth EDRoom online discussion with 12 principals who are currently using social networking in their professional lives.

Key findings:

·     Most principals who responded to the survey believe that social networking sites can provide value in education because they provide a way for educators to share information and resources with an extended community of educators, create professional learning communities, and improve school-wide communications with students and staff. About half of the surveyed principals felt that social networking is very valuable for these purposes.

·     Most of the principals in the discussion group thought that social networking and online collaboration tools would make a substantive change in students’ educational experience. Specific types of changes they mentioned included: development of a more social/collaborative view of learning; improved motivation, engagement, and/or active involvement; and creation of a connection to real-life learning.

·     None of the responding principals in the discussion group had school/district policies in place on social networking that were deemed adequate, suggesting the need for conversations and collaboration on establishing policies that can facilitate appropriate use of social networking in schools for educational purposes.

For a free copy of the report:

You can download a copy of the report at any of the sponsors’ websites: www.edweb.net, www.mmseducation.com, or www.mchdata.com.

To request a copy or for more information, send an email to survey@edweb.net.
For more information, please visit the edweb site: | info@edweb.net | www.edweb.net

SLAV awards – applications closing 17 September

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A reminder that applications for the 2010 School Library Association of Victoria awards close on Friday 17 September.

The John Ward Award, The SLAV Research Fellowship, The SLAV Innovator’s Grant and the SLAV School Leaders Award are presented each year. This is a fantastic opportunity to recognise the contributions of a colleague.

The John Ward Award

John Ward was a founding member of SLAV in the early 1960s, a founding member of Australian School Library Association in 1968 and a founding member of the International Association of School Librarianship. He held the positions of Secretary and President of SLAV for many years and was the Secretary of ASLA during the 1970s, a period of rapid library expansion. In recognition of John’s contribution to our profession, the SLAV Council established the John Ward Award in 1998, with a professional development grant of $2000 to be awarded annually.

The recipient/s must demonstrate an outstanding contribution to learning and teaching at their school and raise the profile of the profession through their role as teacher-librarian.


The SLAV Research Fellowship


In recent years education authorities have based curriculum reform on the results of research projects that have been carried out here and overseas. Academics and practitioners alike have emphasised the need to carry out action research projects and document the impact that our school library programs have on student learning outcomes.

The SLAV Research Fellowship supports research projects that involve school libraries in learning and teaching. The fellowship will take the form of a $1000 grant to provide practical support to a teacher-librarian implementing a local research project.


The SLAV Innovator’s Grant

Sponsored by Pledger Consulting Pty Ltd – Links Plus


In conjunction with Pledger Consulting, SLAV is particularly pleased to sponsor an award that goes to an innovative library or school team. Teams may self nominate or be nominated by SLAV branches. The grant will consist of a package of SLAV professional development and/or publications to the value of $800 plus $200 worth of Pledger Consulting products. SLAV would like to take this opportunity to thank Pledger Consulting for their generous sponsorship of this award. Over a period of many years Pledger Consulting Pty Ltd has provided directories of internet sites to learners, teacher-librarians and teachers in schools. All of their products are designed to guide research and save time for students, teachers and librarians.

Research has indicated that principal or school leader support of the library program is critical in encouraging teacher / teacher-librarian collaboration and in making the library program an integral part of the learning and teaching of the school. (Colorado Study, 1999)

The SLAV School Leader Award is made to a school leader who demonstrates outstanding support of the school library and the work of the school library team.

The award recipient will be recognised by the presentation of a certificate at the International School Libraries Day Dinner. School leaders can be nominated by a teacher-librarian or the school library team (SLAV membership required to nominate). School personnel who are members of the school leadership team within the school are eligible to be nominated.

eSmart schools

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The news released yesterday that Victorian schools will be able to gain access to funding and support to become eSmart schools is a brilliant step towards cybersafety.

The program developed by the Allanah and Madeline Foundation and trialled by a number of schools is now set to be rolled out to Victorian schools.

Quick Tour 2.4 9 Nov

With funding, training, information and actions for students, teachers and students, eSmart schools will have a number of resources to hand to help avoid cyberbullying and policies to help deal with it if it does occur.

Detailed information is available on the eSmart schools website.

KidsTube

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Have you had students creating videos as part of their learning? Looking for a safe site for students to upload their videos? KidsTube may be helpful. KidsTube is a “monitored video sharing (site) for kids”.

Screen shot 2010-08-22 at 8.35.27 AM

As a site designed for children, all video content is monitored by a team to ensure suitability for the intended audience.

The about page explains more:

KidsTube.com is a monitored video sharing website designed for kids. All user-generated content on KidsTube is monitored by our staff to ensure a family-friendly experience for users of all ages. At KidsTube, our members are encouraged to explore their creativity and share their ideas with other kids from all over the world.


How did KidsTube.com begin?

KidsTube.com was started out of concern for BJ & Laurie’s son Ezra. Ezra began showing interest in playing guitar and was going to other popular video-sharing sites to find guitar instructional videos. The Crocker’s quickly found out that these other sites were a breeding ground for profanity, negativity, and just outright mean-spirited conversations between members. There were several discussions about a kid-friendly video site where kids were free to upload their own videos, converse with other members about their videos, and most importantly, be encouraged to use their imaginations, and learn valuable technical skills with video cameras, computers, and more.


Is KidsTube.com Safe for my Child?

The staff at KidsTube.com consists of parents and grandparents and our main goal in creating KidsTube.com was to provide a safe place for kids to be creative online. Our staff is constantly monitoring video submissions, user comments, personal messages between members, and any other user-generated content displayed on KidsTube. This creates a safe, positive environment where kids can feel free to be creative, share their ideas, and get positive feedback from other members. We encourage our members to always respect each other when leaving comments and that constructive criticism is fine, but negative comments will not be permitted.

KidsTube could be a site worth investigating if you would like your students to publish and share their work with others within a monitored environment.

Book Week @ Strathmore SC

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The fantastic library team at Strathmore Secondary College developed some great resources for their Book Week activities. They have kindly agreed to share them here.

Poster competition
Poster competition

Strathmore 2

Wendy Moyle explains:

The first prize winning poster formed the centre piece for our wall and table “bridge themed” display. Exciting bridge footage is displayed on the monitor each recess and lunchtime.

Strathmore 3

The CBC award winning books are displayed on the  “Strathmore SC  Silver Story Bridge”

ToonDoo1

ToonDoo2

Screen shot 2010-09-07 at 11.22.10 AM

This time I made  a ToonDoo to print,  and created a poster to promote book Week around the school. . . . and now we can  breath a collective sigh of relief !!

Well done Wendy and the rest of the library staff on creating engaging displays using social and traditional media!

Weekly links (weekly)

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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Skype an author with Hazel Edwards

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Recently author Hazel Edwards undertook a ‘Skype an author’ session with New Zealand librarians. Hazel explains how the process felt:

Surreal Skype NZ Book Launch with NZ librarians
I felt a bit like a security camera. Surreal. I was an electronic participant-observer via web-cam  On the wall screen. f2m: the boy within was launched by Kevin Hague, Green MP, at 6pm. But it was 4 pm in Melbourne, and I was on the Skype web-cam from Melbourne.
Hazel on webcam from Melbourne

Hazel on webcam from Melbourne

We’d had a practice two  nights earlier, luckily. Sorted the visual and sound problems. I could hear the enthusiastic crowd, and see some of them, and apparently they could see me on the big screen. Had to remember not to do anything embarrassing. But I couldn’t control where/what I could see.
Location of physical launch: Unity Books, 57 Willis Street, Wellington. New Zealand.
Thoughtful, witty and enthusiastic launcher NZ Launcher Kevin Hague Green MP’s Review, Green MP stressed how health issues were realistically covered in the novel.  Quotes proved he’d READ the book, thoroughly!
But I only ever heard his melodious voice, never saw his face, because the web cam was fixed.
Ditto for my co-author’s eloquent launch speech & the bookseller. Plus they had rich NZ accents.
So I felt rude, not to be looking into people’s eyes, nor acknowledging each by name. I could hear the rustles of appreciative response from the big crowd and see some of them. Not sure how many more were there outside my field of vision.
Distanced, but observing the fabulous buzz in the room. On a technological high, I realised I could take a book crowd snapshot via Skype. So I did. But I was facing the wrong way and they were moving off to form a queue to get their copies autographed by Ryan. And they sold ALL the copies!
Congratulations to my co-author Ryan Kennedy. A fabulous book launch.
Summing up:
A satisfying artistic and electronic experience. Plus:  Saves time and money. I didn’t have to fly to New Zealand. And I could keep working my computer while I waited for them to set up. Downside: I had to settle for toasting in virtual champagne.
Such a great idea for remote and regional schools to be able to connect with an author in this way.

Readers Cup Film Festival

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Sponsored by School Library Association of Victoria: A competition for Readers in Years 7-8 and 9-10.

Thanks to Sandra Hay for the following information:

Encourage your students to showcase their reading, thinking and creative skills, and have fun doing it.

The Readers Cup Film Festival encourages students to participate in school teams, sharpening their reading and thinking skills and developing their digital publishing capabilities.  The competition focusses on the creation of a digital artefact that reinterprets a story with flair and originality.  Any digital technology can be utilised, such as (but not limited to) PowerPoint, video, mobile phones and entries could include photo-stories, mash-ups, animations, videoed plays, news casts, interviews – *you name it*.

For example, in 2009, one creative school entry was a videoed version of a Reader’s Cup quiz panel.  It’s your choice.

The guidelines for the competition, and the Team Registration form are available on http://readerscup.global2.vic.edu.au

On Friday 26th November 2010 students work will be showcased at the Readers Cup Film Festival.  This end of year event will encourage audience participation with quizzes, competitions and great prizes to be won. It is a great end-of-year activity and lots of fun.

REGISTER NOW- http://readerscup.global2.vic.edu.au

Please contact Sandra Hay: sandrahay@bigpond.com.au if you have any queries about the competition or Film Festival.